Ethnic differences in the relationship between psychopathy and (re)offending in a sample of juvenile delinquents

The present study focused on the relationship between psychopathy and delinquency in a multiethnic sample of juvenile offenders (N=207, n=105 native Dutch, and n=102 immigrants) referred to a treatment program. Aims were (1) to examine the cross-ethnic equivalence of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD); (2) to compare the mean levels of psychopathic traits in native Dutch and immigrant juvenile delinquents and (3) the strength of the associations between psychopathic traits and delinquency in both the native Dutch and immigrant samples. Measurement invariance was established for APSD factors assessing callous-unemotional (CU) traits and impulsivity. However, there were ethnic differences in the factor structure of narcissism. No differences were found between ethnic groups in mean levels of CU traits and impulsivity. Finally, the association between impulsivity and self-reported delinquency was stronger for native Dutch than for immigrant juveniles. Further research is needed in order to make the treatment of juvenile delinquents with psychopathic traits in ethnic minority groups more effective according to the specific needs of these juveniles.     

Interrogation techniques and memory distrust

Abstract

Guideline judgements in English sentencing have been subjected to little scrutiny by non-lawyers. In this paper, the writers examine one guideline judgement, R v. Oliver and Others, which concerns the sentencing of offences involving indecent photographs and pseudo-photographs of children. Ten post-Oliver cases where a sentence was appealed are analysed and the results reported. The writers find the guideline's internal logic wanting, with shortcomings reflected in the patchy and non-obvious inferences made in appellate judgements of cases of the kind covered in Oliver. The writers propose flowcharting as a heuristic device in the development of guideline judgements, and possibly as a form of representation of judgements parallel to text-based formulations.     

Contradictory interests: Work,parents, and offspring in early modern Holland

The consistory notes of the Dutch Reformed Church (1573–1700) reveal conflicts over work between parents and children during the early modern period. Two issues that caused particular tension were the labor experience of future sons-in-law and the division of household tasks. Parents' concerns about the financial position of their future son-in-law were sincere and realistic. Skills definitely bettered the new family's chances to survive financially. Children were not expected to take care of their destitute parents nor were parents obliged to support their poverty-stricken married children. Power struggles between children and stepparents also resulted in conflicts over work. After a widowed parent remarried, children and stepparents had to redefine their roles in the new situation. The child who had assumed responsibilities when a parent died resisted a stepparent who took over those tasks. Although the cases presented may not represent everyday interactions between parents and children, they do provide insights into how work caused problems between parents and older children.     

Security Beyond the State: Private Security and International Politics

Toward a Political Economy of Development: A Rational Choice Perspective. Edited by Robert H. Bates. Berkeley, Los Angeles, CA and London: University of California Press, 1988. Pp.x + 393. $48.50 and $14.95. ISBN (not provided for HB edition) and 0 520 06052 0.

Politics and Class Analysis. By Barry Hindess. Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell, 1987. Pp.136. £29.95 (hardback); £7.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 631 15067 6.

Farmers’ Movements in India. By M.V. Nadkarni. Ahmedabad: Allied Private Publishers, 1987. Pp.xiv + 237. Rs.100.     

Loan Officers’ Gender and Microfinance Repayment Rates

This study examines the impact of loan officer characteristics on repayment rates of microfinance borrowers in Mexico applying multilevel analyses, with special attention to the impact of the gender of the loan officer on default rates. The results strongly suggest that loan officers play a crucial role in improving repayment rates in microfinance and that male loan officers are better able to induce borrowers to repay than female loan officers. This may be because men exert authority over women and face fewer problems working late, travelling through unsafe places, and combining a position as counsellor with enforcing repayment.     

Politics of Risk-Taking: Welfare State Reform in Advanced Democracies,by Barbara Vis

This article considers the impacts on the public regulation of private business of three key transformations in public management: “towards more targeting of resources” (through more risk-based regulation); “towards a stronger service ethos” (through more customer-centricity); and “towards increased integration” (through more joined-up regulatory organization). Empirical evidence is presented from a program of research focusing on local authority regulation of the businesses sector in England and Wales. The article concludes by reflecting on how such transformations, which are of wide international significance, might be viewed, particularly from a public interest perspective.     

Assessing and Appraising the Effects of Policy for Wicked Issues: Including Unforeseen Achievements in the Evaluation of the District Policy for Deprived Areas in The Netherlands

Urban regeneration is often acknowledged as a wicked policy issue that produces unanticipated outcomes. Most methods for policy evaluation treat those effects as flaws of planning or neglect them. We argue that wickedness is an inherent aspect of many policy issues and that it should be integrated in efforts to assess and appraise the effects of policy. We use a case of urban regeneration projects in The Netherlands to study how the unanticipated and unforeseen consequences of policy were accounted—or neglected—in the evaluation methods. Also, we present an alternative approach that takes into account the “by-effects” of policy.     

In search of a more adequate concept of security for southern Africa

This article offers a critique of the conventional concept of security and a broader, more inclusive approach is suggested. This takes into account security threats and needs other than those concerned with (only) military‐political issues. The proposed framework for analysis deals with the various dimensions and levels of security, with special reference to southern Africa. A number of problems concerning such a broad approach are also discussed It is concluded that regional cooperation on the provision of security for all the inhabitants offers the only realistic approach to dealing with the mutual needs and threats experienced.     

The Soviet Union and the International Trade Regime: A Reply

An international economist and United Nations executive replies to a critique of his paper devoted to the anticipated Soviet participation in the GATT. The author's rebuttal is focused on his opponent's perception of the GATT as an exclusive club and the suggestion that Soviet membership would be costly to the West. Several new arguments are marshaled to substantiate the initial premise that planned economies attempting to reform should be incorporated in the international trade regime. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 124, 420.